Ebola
by EmergencyManagement
Summary: One year after Dave defeats Morgana. Dave and Becky have just split up, Horvath is on the loose, and a strange girl can't stop having strange dreams about the Arcana Cabana. Will things ever go back to normal?
1. Chapter 1

Ebola

_"In my wildest dreams, you always play the hero. In my darkest hour of night, you rescue me, you save my life."_

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Emily. Really- I'm not that creative.**

_

* * *

_

It was a dark night. The sky was black, void of stars and moon. A man walked down a dark alley, not bothered by the late November chill or the echoing sound of leather boots crunching dead leaves.

The man was well-dressed; he wore a suit with a fur coat and a bowler hat. His most remarkable feature, however, was his staff. At the head of the scepter sat a large blue glowing diamond.

The man stopped in front of an antique shoppe. He smiled, a leering grin that didn't look friendly at all. "I have you now, Balthazar."

* * *

Dave Stutler woke to his alarm clock blaring in one ear and his dog drooling in the other. He groaned. "I hate my life," he muttered to himself.

He stumbled into the kitchen of his shared apartment. His roommate, Bennet, was already up.

"Dave! What's crackin'?"

Dave groaned in response.

Bennet sighed dramatically. "You can't still be hung up on Becky, man." He leaned closer to Dave. "She's gone. And that sucks, but you gotta show her you're not gonna sit around and mope. Get back on that horse! Find a new girl!" Sensing Dave's apprehension, Bennet suggested a new idea. "I could set you up with a nice girl."

Dave spit his cereal out all over Bennet's face. "Not gonna happen." He stood up and left the room.

* * *

I jerked awake from my nightmare. It was always the same one, but I could never remember it. All I ever remembered was that it terrified me to the core. I brushed my hair away from my face. There was something else this time, I was sure of it. A building, or a business, or something. Part of the name was stuck in my head: Arcana.

All morning, the word _Arcana_ was stuck in my head. Finally, I had had enough. I went to the student library at NYU, did a yellow pages search for the word, and found 76 results.

"Seventy-six. Seventy-six. Seventy-six." I chanted to myself as I printed the addresses of all 76 stores. Three pages later, I was set. "Not surprising, this is New York, after all." I mumbled as I scanned the list to decide which was closest.

"What's not surprising?"

I screamed and elbowed my inquisitor in the gut. I stayed poised to attack, ready if they tried anything.

The person behind me groaned. "This just hasn't been my week..." He said to himself. "Hey, look, sorry if I scared you. I was just curious." His hand touched my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"Are you okay..." I mumbled. "Are _you_ okay?" I looked up at him. Dear God, I knew him. Tall, wavy dark brown hair, puppy dog eyes... He was in one of my physics classes.

"Fine." He looked at me. "Do I..."

"Know me?" I finished. He nodded and I smiled. "You might. Are you in Steinhart's Theory of Particle Physics class?"

"Yeah... I think I remember you." He nodded. "I'm Dave."

"I'm Emily; nice to meet you, Dave." I walked toward the doors. Before I knew it, Dave was beside me again, walking with me toward the exit.

"So what's not surprising?" He asked.

"Don't you know that curiosity killed the cat?"

"I've never been much of a cat person anyway."

I stopped in my tracks. "What? How can you not like cats?"

"They remind me of old ladies and funeral homes."

I laughed and nodded. "Okay, I can see that." We started walking again.

We got about a block before Dave spoke up. "You never gave me an answer. What's not surprising?"

"There are seventy-six stores, shoppes, or warehouses with the word Arcana in the title."

Dave was quiet for a moment. I looked up at him; his eyes were narrowed at a faraway object like he was thinking about something.

"A penny for your thoughts?" I asked.

"I work at an antique store with the word Arcana in the title." He was quiet again. "I could show you it, if you want."

I smiled. "That'd be great! Thanks a lot, Dave."

His smile set butterflies afloat in my stomach.

Dave's store, as it happens, was all the way across town. I didn't mind the walking; it gave me a chance to get to know Dave better.  
He was a college student with an aptitude for physics and math, like me. He worked at an antique store called Arcana Cabana. He liked dogs better than cats, much to my chagrin, but he liked birds as well. In his free time, he worked with his Tesla coils and spent time with his uncle and aunt, who owned the store we were on our way to.

"-then I realized that the plasma vibrates, making a low hum. You can make music from Tesla coils." His voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Really?" I loved music.

"Yeah. I can show you sometime... If you want." He smiled hopefully at me.

"Definitely, that's so cool." I smiled back. Finally, someone understood my love for physics. Finally, someone understood me. Well, most of me.

We stopped in front of a little antique store. It was no more than a hole in the wall, but I knew it was the store I'd dreamed about. Arcana Cabana was embossed in gold on one of the teal doors. One look through the windows told me it was filled with old and interesting things. I knew that inside lay the object I needed for... Something. I wasn't sure yet what my dreams meant or even what I needed from the Arcana Cabana. I was sure, however, that the key to unlocking my dreams was inside.

Dave's voice came from far away. "You coming?" He held his hand out for me.

I took it.

* * *

Dave's heart skipped a beat. Okay, it skipped two. Alright, fine, it skipped three. He had never met a girl like this before; she was intriguing and engaging. She was a physics nerd just like he was.

She was beautiful. Her dark hair fell past her shoulders and her side-swept bangs framed her bright green eyes. She was short; he remembered thinking of her as 'the kid who skipped high school from theory of particle physics.'

Her hand fit perfectly with his.

He led her inside the store and watched her face as it lit up with excitement.

"This is so cool," She said. Dave stayed by the doors as Emily walked further into the store. "You really work here?"

"Yep, twenty hours a week."

"Wow..." Her smile made his palms sweat and his heart race.

"Good afternoon, how may I help you?" Dave jumped. How long had Balthazar been there? Had he seen Dave staring? One look told Dave yes, Balthazar had seen everything. "Dave! How are you?" Dave took this as his cue to walk to the counter. When he had reached it, Balthazar gave him a long, hard look. "Who is she? What is she doing here?" Balthazar whispered.

"She's just a girl in my physics class, she's looking for stores with Arcana in the title."

"And since you can't resist a pretty face, you brought her here."

"Well... Yeah." Dave looked over at Emily again. She was admiring a portrait of Merlin. "Her name's Emily."

"Are you already over Rebecca? And I thought she was so special..." Balthazar clicked his tongue. "Hmmm."

"Look, Balthazar, this is different. Emily's just a friend. I just met her today!"

"Have you invited her to your lab?" Dave didn't answer. Instead, he chose to look sheepish. "You have! You like her." Balthazar nudged him.

"It's not a crime to like someone..."

"What if she was a-"

"Hey Dave? Can you tell me what this is?" Emily called. She was looking at an ornate gold chain.

"That is said to be Merlin's lover's bracelet. Legend says that her descendant will be known through this chain, and that she will be the downfall of the prime Merlinian."

"She'll kill him?" Her eyes were slightly narrowed in thoughtfulness.

"It doesn't give many specifics about that. All the legend says is that she and the prime Merlinian are destined to fall in love and that she will bring about his eventual downfall, whatever that means."

"It means she'll kill him, just like her ancestor Niviane did." Emily and Dave jumped; how did Balthazar sneak up on them like that?

"I thought Morgana killed Merlin." Emily surprised Dave with her knowledge of lore.

"She did, but Niviane was the one who sold Merlin out. She kept him busy while Morgana and Horvath sneaked into the castle. When they arrived, she fled, too cowardly to witness the consequences of her actions." When Balthazar walked back to the counter, they followed.

"Are you so sure her motives were evil? After all, no one got her side of the story. What if she was threatened by Morgana?"

"Then she should have died. Died, rather than betray the one she loved so much."

"What if Morgana threatened Merlin? What if she promised to kill him slowly and painfully, and force Niviane to watch him die without being to help him? Wouldn't you agree that would be worse?"

"Yes, but-"

"At least this way, the two lovers got to see each other one last time."

Balthazar smiled. "You're a very bright girl, Emily. Very good at arguing, too." He looked at Dave. "I like this one a lot more than the last one."

Dave quickly led Emily out of the store after that.

* * *

I led Dave back to my apartment building. We didn't talk much about the store; we spoke more about our lives and whatnot.

"Thanks for walking me home, Dave." I smiled. "And thanks for showing me your store. It was so cool."

"Yeah, no problem. Did you find what you were looking for?"

I thought back to the bracelet. "Yeah, I think I did. Well, good night."

"Night."

I went inside. As I walked into my apartment, a strange feeling overtook me. I suddenly felt very heavy, like the weight of the world was on my shoulders.

I flicked my wrist and my coffeemaker turned on. Another flick and it was ready. I held my hand out for the approaching cup of coffee that was levitating toward me. Usually I enjoyed magic-brewed coffee- somehow it made better coffee than I did- but tonight it just wasn't doing the trick.

I set the cup down and cried as I collapsed under the weight of what was eating me inside- I was Niviane's descendant. Dave was the prime Merlinian.

I was destined to kill him.


	2. Chapter 2

_"I miss you even more than I could have believed; and I was prepared to miss you a good deal."_

**Disclaimer: I own only Emily. Please don't sue me.**

* * *

Dave arrived at his lab that night sailing on cloud nine. It seemed his smile was painted on his face and wouldn't come off. He was distracted as he worked- he was zapped twice by the Tesla coils because he was zoning out.

"Can't stop thinking about her, huh?" Make that three times he was zapped.

"God, Balthazar, can't a guy work without being interrupted?" He was right, though; Dave couldn't get Emily out of his head.

"Shut up, I'm your master. I can do whatever I want." Balthazar stood up from his perch on the steps and walked the rest of the way down into Dave's lab. "Seriously though. There's something different about her, isn't there?"

"Yeah... She's funny, smart, beautiful-"

"She's a witch, Dave." Make that four times Dave was zapped by the Tesla coils.

* * *

_Emily was in a castle. An aged yet handsome man stood before her._

_"Quick, Merlin, they're coming! You have to leave!" She found herself saying._

_The man took her in his arms. "No. They won't come after you, not anymore. I've known about Horvath for a while now; it doesn't surprise me. Now, it's time for you to leave- what's about to take place isn't suitable for a lady to watch." He held Emily at arms length and examined her "I'm so sorry it had to end this way."_

_Emily shook her head. "I'll stay. I'll fight. It doesn't have to be this way!"_

_His eyes reflected sadness. "I can see the future, Niviane. It ends tonight. Just know that my love for you will never die."_

_"Oh, Merlin, I'll love you forever. Even my descendants will love yours."_

_"Even then, Niviane, your descendants will sell his out, just like you did." A woman's cruel laughter echoed the room._

_"Morgana!" Niviane- Emily- cried._

_"Niviane, leave. Morgana's battle is with me now." Merlin stood in front of Niviane protectively._

_"No!"_

_"Then I will make you leave." Merlin snapped his finger and Niviane started fading away. She had enough time to realize that Merlin could have blocked Morgana's attack if he hadn't protected her. She had enough time to see Morgana stab Merlin's heart._

* * *

"Merlin, no!" I woke up shouting. I must have rolled off the bed at some point in the night, because I was on the floor. "What... What..." I struggled to understand what was happening now and what just happened.

I reached above me for the notepad on my bedside table. I was going to get all of this down before I forgot.

_'I was with Merlin- he didn't look as old as the legend portrays him...'_

_

* * *

_

I saw Dave in the campus coffee shop. When I approached him, he seemed quieter.

"Hey Dave. What's up?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Just got a late start this morning, that's all."

We stood in silence.

"You know, I was thinking, we should-" He walked away from me. Out the coffee shop doors he went. "Hang out some time, I really like you..." I finished.

Maybe it was better this way. After all, if we didn't speak, we couldn't fall in love and if we didn't fall in love, I couldn't cause his death.

Still, tears formed in my eyes as I left the coffee shop.

* * *

Dave left the coffee shop in a rush- why had he gone in in the first place? He couldn't seem to remember anything. His mind had been a scrambled mess of goop since he went to the Arcana Cabana that morning.

He had been planning to tell Balthazar that there was no way, absolutely no way, that Emily could be a witch. Ever. He would have known; he would have sensed her magic.

When he got to the Arcana Cabana, there was no one there. Neither Balthazar nor Veronica were in the apartment above. There was, however, a strange note on the counter downstairs. _'Free them if you can, prime Merlinian.'_ Beside the note lay a mirror. Dave looked into it, expecting to see his reflection. What he saw was much different.

Balthazar and Veronica were tied to chairs. They struggled against the ropes, but neither had their ring on. They were powerless.

"Balthazar!" Dave shouted.

Balthazar looked up. "Dave. Annis. Get help." After that, Balthazar could no longer hear him.

Dave put the mirror (he then understood it was an annis) in his backpack and left the store.

'How am I gonna free them? What the hell is an annis?' Dave thought now as he approached his lab. He pondered for hours before he remembered Balthazar's last words: get help. Dave suddenly remembered seeing Emily in the coffee shop. He remembered running out on her.

Dave groaned. "This really isn't my week."

* * *

My phone rang from my beside table, waking me from fitful sleep. "Hello?" Who would call at 1:36 in the morning?

"Emily?" A male voice met my ears.

"Dave?"

"Emily?"

"What?" What was his problem? First he likes me, then he doesn't, then he calls me in the early morning?

"I need your help."

"Oh yeah? With what, more tips on how to be a jerk? I think you've got that covered."

"Emily, I'm so sorry about earlier today. I had a lot on my mind, and I know that's no excuse for the way I acted, but I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

I sighed. "What's going on, Dave?"

"Can you meet me at my lab? It's that abandoned subway turnaround by the university library."

"Now?"

"Please, Emily?" I heard the desperation in his voice and cracked.

"Sure." I didn't even bother changing from my pajamas- surely Dave would understand. I snapped my fingers and poof! I was gone.

I knocked on Dave's door. "Come on, Dave, it's too cold to be out here in shorts and a tank top..."

He opened the door and stared. "How did you... What..."

I sighed and pushed past him into the warmth of the subway turnaround. "What can I say, I know how to travel."

"I'll say..." He led me to the lower level.  
"What did you need, Dave?" It was all I could do to not drool over his lab- it was a nerdy girl's heaven.

"Do you know what an annis is?"

"That's it? I came all the way down here so you could ask about a medieval vortex?"

"So you do know it! I knew you would!"

"What's this all about?"

He sighed and turned away. "I can't tell you."

I was floored. "So I came here at one-thirty in the morning so you could ask for my help about some weird object, then refuse to tell me why you're asking and what's going on? That's it, Dave. I'm done." I left.

Dave followed me all the way out to the street. "Emily, wait! Wait..."

Some force stopped me. "Yes?"

His hands turned me around and forced me to look into his big brown eyes. An image of Merlin from my dream flashed in my head.

"Dave..." I breathed.

His hands remained on my shoulders. "You have to help me."

I shook him off and gave him a hard stare. "Why should I?"

He sighed. "I can't... I can't tell you."

"Then I'm leaving." I turned to go.

"Wait!" He called. "Help me because... Because out of all the girls- all the girls I've ever met- you're the only one who understands me."

I stopped walking and sighed. "Okay. I'll help you. But you need to be completely honest from me from now on. Tell me exactly what's going on. If you don't, I leave, and I don't come back. Deal?"

"Deal."


	3. Chapter 3

_"You come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by seeing an imperfect person perfectly."_

**A/N: Thanks to everyone for reviewing! It really means a lot to me. :]**

**Disclaimer: Just so we understand each other, only Emily is mine. Well, her and the plot line. But anyway. Don't sue me and don't steal Emily- she means too much to me!**

* * *

Over the next few days, I learned what was going on. As it turns out, all my suspicions were correct- Dave was not only a sorcerer, he was the prime Merlinian. Balthazar was the Balthazar, as in the one from my huge magical history book that was handed down to me from my mother, as in one of Merlin's apprentices. That had been Morgana almost returning a year ago. (I _knew _I felt something fishy in the air those couple of weeks...)

More and more of my things found their way in to Dave's lab over the next few days as well- by the end of the week, I practically lived there. Dave and I worked around the clock to find a way to free Balthazar and Veronica.

But... There was still one thing Dave didn't know: I was a witch. Well, not all witch; I was part fey as well. Apparently, Niviane was a fay, and me being her descendant meant that I was at least part-fey. That also meant that my magic was different- I could teleport, talk to animals, conjure various elements, and manipulate certain aspects of my appearance in addition to all the standard witch magic. It was a sweet gig, but I still hadn't told Dave. I thought if he knew what I was, he wouldn't like me anymore. After all, the fay were treated as diseased by the magical community; who's to say Dave wouldn't be like everyone else like him? Still, I knew I needed to tell him soon. Three days, I told myself. If we hadn't found a solution in three days, I'd tell Dave my secret. At least I wouldn't have to restrict my time spent searching in my book anymore.

* * *

Three days later, I found myself pacing nervously in the lab. (I had taken to calling it _the _lab- I no longer saw it as _Dave's_ lab, but it certainly wasn't _my_ lab. Although I wished.) Dave was in the shower- I planned on assaulting him the second he reentered my section of the lab. My plan? I would sit him down and give him the news. If he didn't want me around any more, that was his decision.

I sighed.

"Okay, I'm out. What was the news?"

I reveled in Dave's voice. Hopefully this wasn't the last time I heard it. "We need to talk." I walked him to my makeshift bed. I sat beside him and refused to look at him. "Dave, I'm different."

"I know, that's why I asked you to help me, that's why we've slowly been moving in to the lab for the past week."

"No, Dave. I'm..." I stole myself for what I was about to announce. "I'm part witch. That's why I knew what an annis was, that's why I don't let you bring over any of my stuff, that's how I got here so quickly when you called me a week ago. I haven't told you because I was afraid you'd never want to be around me again. The magical community looks down on... my kind, and I was afraid you'd be just like them."

Dave was quiet for a while. I was secretly overjoyed when he broke the silence. "Why would you think for even a second that I would look down on you? And what do you mean, your kind? Half witch, half human?"

"Not exactly. Remember that bracelet at the Arcana Cabana? The one that belonged to Merlin's lover?"

"Yeah, but I don't get how that relates to-"

"Her name was Niviane. She was a fey. Haven't you read your magical history book?"

"Not exactly." He looked sheepish.

I snapped my fingers and waited for his book to come. "It's okay- I didn't even crack mine open until I turned nineteen." Dave's book landed in my lap and I opened it to Niviane's page. "She's also known as the Lady of the Lake." I flipped that page and found what I was looking for- her genealogy. "Look- there's me."

"So you're her great-great-great-great-great-great-grand kid. That makes you-"

"A fey." _And the owner of the lovely bracelet in your store._ But I didn't tell him that part. "Part-fey. Part-witch. The, uh, magical community doesn't look upon feys kindly after what happened with Merlin."

"I still don't understand why you thought I would react badly. Am I anything close to normal?" He was looking at me, I could tell.

"No. Not at all." I smiled.

Dave scooted close to me and wrapped an arm around my waist. "Then stop worrying that I'm suddenly going to become an average guy, because I can assure you I'm not."

I was suddenly acutely aware of the lack of space between Dave and me. As much I wanted Dave to be with me, I wanted Dave to stay alive more. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder. Later, things would be complicated, but for now I was completely and utterly happy.

* * *

Dave made the connection between Emily and the bracelet three mornings after their talk. He had woken up in Emily's bed with her draped across him and his arms wrapped around her for the past three days. (Not that they were having sex, they were just sleeping in the same bed. Dave had a sneaking suspicion that Emily had purposely kept them up working just so he would fall asleep with her.) Usually Emily woke up soon after he did, but today she slept on, unaware that her roommate watched her carefully as he mused to himself.

It would be too easy to fall for her, Dave decided. She wasn't like anyone he'd ever met and he had never felt this way about any other girl, not even Becky. She hadn't left his mind since the second they met. Even in the few hours he spent alone searching for a way to free Balthazar, Emily was always in the back of his mind.

Dave discovered no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stay mad at her. He couldn't stay away from her- their bodies were like magnets yearning to be connected. He couldn't not fall in love with Emily.

He had never been much of a 'fate' kind of guy, but he was starting to be. Dave thought maybe Emily was brought in to his life to help him free Balthazar and Veronica. Then a strange image came to his mind. A gold bracelet, old but in extremely good condition. He remembered Emily asking about it in the shop the first time they met.

Dave's world spun. Emily was Niviane's descendant. He was the prime Merlinian. It was too easy to fall for Emily because that was exactly what he was supposed to do.

This was fate.


	4. Chapter 4

_"What's terrible is to pretend that the second-rate is first-rate, that you don't need love when you do or that you like your work when you know quite well you're capable of better."_

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, everyone! I needed to work a few things out with myself (which you'll get to see in the next chapter). Thanks for sticking with Emily and me! :]**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Dave or any other character except Emily. I don't own the legend of Merlin or the Lady of the Lake. They're not mine, so please don't sue!**

* * *

When I woke up, Dave was gone. I used the time to scour my history book of any mention of an annis. Nothing, nothing, and more nothing.

"Just show me what a freaking annis is!" I shouted at it. Almost as if on cue, the pages lit up and flipped to a chapter about annises. I sighed. "That works, I guess."

The more I read about annises, however, the less annoyed I was and the more worried I became.

_The Annis was a medieval mirror used to trap one's enemies. The aforementioned enemies need only be in the room with the annis for it to suck them in to its other realm, a vortex which closed at the next full moon. After that, the kidnapped could never be rescued. _

_ The Annis was designed to trap anyone and everything that it came into contact with. Only a very powerful wizard could seal it, let alone open the vortex wide enough for the trapped to escape._

So they only had until the next full moon? When was that? The last full moon was four days before I met Dave, so the next would be...

"Two weeks. Three weeks, tops." Suddenly I couldn't wait for Dave to come back.

I passed the time by looking up spells that might help us. So far, I didn't find anything but an enchanted rope, and I had no idea how that would be useful in getting Balthazar and Veronica out of a mirror/vortex.

I also found out the date of the next full moon- the 21st of December. The winter solstice. For any normal witch or wizard, the solstice would pass by unnoticed, but for a fey it was one of the most important days of the year. It was the day we were at our most vulnerable- we would get horrible visions of the ones we loved in danger. This alone would make anyone walk on eggshells the whole day, but to top that off, our magic would be sporadic throughout the day. (It had something to do with the length of the day. I didn't even pretend to understand fey magic.) It was a fey legend that only the Lady of the Lake herself was able to beat this, and that was before Merlin died. After he died, she was never seen again and it was said that the lake she resided in rose three inches from her tears.

I sat contemplating this until Dave returned.

"I have something for you." He took my arm and reached into a paper bag.

"What is it?" I was curious. It was the first time he had left the lab without me in a week.

"Something I think will clear things up for the both of us." He fastened a gold bracelet around my wrist.

"What-" I stopped. The bracelet was twisting up my forearm. It stopped at my elbow. As I examined the bracelet closer, I realized just what it was. "Niviane's bracelet." Whispering was the closest I could do to speaking.

"I think I found its owner." Dave didn't seem quite as stunned as I was.

"So... Now we both know."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He looked in to my eyes as if searching for some hidden answer.

"I'm not going to be that girl, Dave. I'm not going to be the girl that falls for someone after knowing him a week, no matter how wonderful he is, no matter how much she thinks about him... No matter how right it feels."

His ever-expressive eyebrows were raised in skepticism. "But you're the type of girl who moves in with someone she's only known a week? You're the type of girl to make her new roommate sleep with her under the guise of working late?"

I blushed. "Maybe I am. Believe me, everything in me is screaming at me to fall head over heels for you, to give everything I have to you."

"Then why not give in?" Our faces were inches apart by now. I noticed the minuscule flecks of gold in Dave's eyes and wondered why I hadn't taken note sooner of the way his hair flipped up at the front. I almost forgot my reason for not giving in...

Then I saw Merlin getting stabbed in the heart by Morgana and I remembered.

"I'm not going to be like her. I won't be like Niviane."

Understanding and compassion swirled in Dave's eyes. "You already aren't. You chose to work with me instead of against me."

I gave in. All my defenses came crashing down as Dave's lips met mine.

I stopped our make-out session before it could go too far. After all, we still had work to do.

"Dave," I breathed. "Dave, the annis."

He quickly stood up and ran his hands through his hair. "Yeah. Yeah, the annis. You didn't find anything, did you?"

"Actually, I did. Apparently I need to be more forceful with my magic book." I blinked and shook my head. "Uh.. Here." I handed him my book.

"The annis was a medieval vortex..." I didn't listen to him mumble the rest. I was too busy thinking of solutions. What could we do, short of going in to the annis after them?

Dave was powerful; if he could find a way to open the vortex far enough, I could use my fey magic to teleport inside it and free Balthazar and Veronica. The trick would be opening the annis and keeping it open long enough for all of us to get out safely. I didn't think about what we would do if my magic refused to cooperate.

"It's Horvath." I blinked. What? "He trapped Balthazar and Veronica."

"How do you know?"

"I'm sure he escaped when I was battling Morgana. Only his hat was left behind. I didn't think much about it then, but now it seems important. He wouldn't have just... Disintegrated, would he?"

I racked my brain for any magical spell that would have caused Horvath to turn to dust. "I don't think so." I shook my head. "That's not important right now. I mean, it's important that we know who we're dealing with, but what's really important right now is that we figure out a way to free Balthazar and Veronica."

"Right. So..." Dave consulted my book. "When's the next full moon?"

"The twenty-first." Hopefully he wouldn't pick up on the fact that the twenty-first was the solstice. I liked Dave a lot, but I really didn't feel like explaining more fey magic to him.

He thought about this for a second. "What's today?"

"The eighth."

"That gives us two weeks before..."

"Before our time is up and the closest you'll ever get to Balthazar is looking at him through the glass of the annis."

"I knew I liked you for your positive attitude."

* * *

Two days later, Dave and I were practicing spells in the lab, trying to find one that would work perfectly for us. It was a huge task- we were working harder than ever, barely finding time to eat or even sleep. I was wearing down and so was Dave; it was obvious that we needed rest.

I was panting. The last spell I used had been especially hard to contain. I was looking over the list we were working off of when I heard a knock at the door.

"I'll get it." I said as I made for the door. Dave, ever-curious, followed me.

I opened the door. It barely registered in my head who it was before I saw black.

* * *

I woke up chained to a wall. A dark figure stood in the shadows of the wall opposite me.

A cruel voice spoke. "Well well well, our guest of honor has arrived. You woke up much sooner than I expected you to. It's a shame, really, that you were only out for an hour." I sighed internally. Good. No days had passed- Dave still had time. "A shame for you, I mean. I get to torture you more now, maybe rip your pretty little wings off... Fey."

I laughed. "I have no wings. You'll have to find something else to rip off."

"You lie! You're a fey; you have to have wings!" He took a moment to get composed. "No matter. I shall indeed find something else to rip off." My kidnapper took a step forward into the light.

"What do you want, Horvath?"

He smiled. "You know me, how flattering."

"Of course I know you; I know all about you." I did- he was in my history book.

"And I want to know all about you, little fey. Tell me, how did you meet Dave?"

I decided it was better I tell him. I didn't want him getting angry with me too soon. I also decided I wouldn't tell him everything- I didn't want to outlive my usefulness. "Chance. A library. He showed me the store."

"And then you fell in love, how sweet." Then, almost as if an afterthought, "He won't save you, you know. He values Balthazar's life over yours."

Even though I knew Dave loved me- he had to after all, just like I had to love him- a part of me believed Horvath. (Most of me hoped, however, that Dave freed Balthazar then came to rescue me. I knew Dave was powerful, but he was so scrawny. How he survived high school was anyone's guess.) Still, I jingled my left arm- the one Niviane's bracelet was on. "See this, Horvath? Look closely."

Horvath came closer to inspect it. When he realized what was coiled around my arm, he jerked back as if burned. "No. No, it can't be. You can't be..."

I laughed. "My boyfriend could kick your boyfriend's ass." I sang. "You're a little pansy, nah nah nah nah boo boo!" I was laughing hysterically and I had no idea why. Maybe it was my exhaustion finally catching up to me. Suddenly, everything seemed hilarious.

Horvath backhanded me. He was strong- the slap caused my head to hit the wall.

Somehow, this made everything even more funny. I laughed harder. "Did I hit a nerve, Horvie-poo? Was I right about your boyfriend?" I stuck my tongue out at him. (When I looked back on this later, I realized this was a very stupid move that could have gone very wrong if Horvath had been any angrier.)

Horvath's hand was around my throat. "I usually don't condone physical violence, but this is so much fun." The look in his eyes was enough to send a cold rush of fear through me. "I'm not going to kill you yet. That would spoil the party I've planned for you." He slammed my head against the wall until I felt blood dribble on my neck and then for a while longer. Then he left.

When I was sure he was gone, I took inventory of my injuries. My head was bleeding, there was a cut just below my eye, and my bottom lip was swollen where Horvath had slapped me. Other than that, I was fine... For now. I tried to teleport, but I found that I was either too exhausted or this place was magic-proof.

Great. I was stuck here until Dave rescued Balthazar.

"Hurry up, Dave." I said to absolutely no one.


End file.
